Many vehicles have remote keyless entry systems which allow vehicle drivers and/or passengers to lock and unlock doors and/or open trunks or doors and/or arm and disarm security systems. For most such systems, the vehicle provides visual and/or audible indications when the state of the vehicle has changed, such as a horn chirp or headlamp flash when the doors are locked. Unfortunately, due to repetition of the process and distraction, vehicle drivers and/or passengers often forget whether or not they have left the vehicle in a desired state, even with the indication that is given by the vehicle. For example, an individual leaving a vehicle in a busy and crowded parking lot might desire the vehicle to be locked with the security system armed, but because of distraction the state condition later cannot be remembered, thereby causing anxiety and/or the need to return to the vehicle to check the state. To confirm the state condition, it is usually necessary to visually inspect the vehicle or to use the remote keyless entry system to issue the command for the desired state so that the vehicle responds with its standard indicators (such as horn chirp or headlamp flashing). The results of this sequence of events possibly include unnecessary anxiety for the vehicle driver and/or passengers, a waste of time and energy, and/or a substantial financial loss if a vehicle is unknowingly left unlocked.
A similar problem exists for many other devices. For example, it is often desirable to confirm the state of door locks for homes or businesses because of the substantial financial loss that may occur if they are unknowingly left unlocked. Additionally, state conditions of appliances, such as irons or stoves, may be desired from a remote location since significant property damage could result if such appliances are left on unattended.
Anecdotally, it is believed that the various phenomena described above are widespread. However, to date, there appears to have been no recognition that this is a technical problem that may have a technical solution. While many apparatus have mechanisms to indicate state change when such occurs (such as a horn chirp when vehicle doors are locked), nothing has apparently been done to record state conditions in a remote device so that the state can be confirmed without being near the apparatus.